Vol. 1 - Ch. 51

Chapter 51

“Ugh.”

Damian let out a short groan, bending his waist. The monster’s claw swished past him immediately. Without even a moment to straighten up, Damian rolled his body and raised his sword, deflecting the attack from another monster.

At first, he had blocked their attacks head-on, but as time went on, he realized it was a losing battle. Now, he focused on evasion, conserving as much energy as possible. Taking a step back to buy some time, Damian scanned his surroundings.

The sudden appearance of three robed figures and three monsters at the entrance of the dark forest had caught him off guard. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed. At some point, the rain had begun to pour, distorting his vision.

Even though he had conserved his strength, Damian knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse his chances became. He panted heavily, his breath ragged. Three monsters weren’t a small number, but under normal circumstances, the end would have been in sight by now.

Keekeek!

A monster struck by Damian’s blade let out a pain-filled screech, writhing in agony.

‘Something’s… wrong.’

Something was definitely strange.

No matter how many monsters he slayed, more seemed to take their place. It was almost as if they were regenerating.

‘That can’t be possible.’

His exhaustion must have been playing tricks on his mind. There was no other explanation for these ridiculous thoughts. Tightening his grip on his sword, Damian suddenly found his situation absurd.

Blinded by the idea of his biological mother, he had willingly walked into an obvious trap, one that anyone could have seen coming from a step away.

“Gah!”

One of the robed figures, who had been extending their hand toward something, suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed. At the same time, one of the monsters dropped lifelessly to the ground. It was the monster furthest from Damian. Yet, the remaining two showed no reaction to their fallen comrade.

Moments later, as one of the robed figures approached the collapsed one, another monster’s movements abruptly came to a halt. The figure who had approached moved their hands in a flurry, and soon, a crimson haze began to rise from the fallen figure, only to be absorbed into the other’s body. It looked as if they were absorbing some kind of power.

Before Damian could process what was happening, one of the remaining monsters lunged at him.

“Gah!”

Barely evading the attack, Damian gasped for air.

“Damian!”

A familiar voice rang out. It was Alec, Edmund, and Daphne.

The robed figures became visibly agitated upon spotting Edmund, quickly exchanging frantic words. Then, only seconds later, both monsters charged at Edmund.

Leaving Daphne in Alec’s care, Edmund dismounted and drew his sword. Having just barely escaped the relentless attacks of the monsters, Damian clutched his torn arm, which had been grazed by a rock, and shouted toward Edmund.

“Father! Attack the robed figures!”

Edmund immediately located the figures hiding in the brush. Their shoulders flinched slightly, and without hesitation, Edmund lunged at them.

The robed figures fumbled, their hands moving clumsily, and one of them began bleeding profusely from the nose, seemingly in pain. This caused one of the monsters to block Edmund with even greater speed. Even Damian, who had encountered countless monsters in his time, had never seen such swift movements.

Keekeekeek!

However, it was only a matter of time before the monster’s arms were severed by Edmund’s blade, faintly glowing with aura.

“Your Excellency! We must keep them alive!” 

Alec called out hurriedly as Edmund raised his sword once more. After a brief pause, Edmund struck, severing the arms of the robed figures instead of finishing them off like the monsters.

The situation quickly came under control.

“-!”

“-!-!”

The robed figures clutched their missing arms, writhing in agony and emitting silent screams.

“…Their tongues and teeth are missing.” 

Alec reported as he approached, confirming the incapacitated figures with Daphne.

Pulling back their deeply hooded robes revealed short, cropped hair, red-tinted eyes, and frail, childlike bodies that were unnaturally thin. They didn’t seem to be assassins. Beyond their missing tongues and teeth, another peculiarity stood out.

“Their fingers have been cut off as well.”

Their hands were wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.

“It seems the fingers were severed not long ago. It’s a precaution to prevent them from revealing secrets if captured.”

“We might still find some clues through interrogation.”

Alec bound the struggling figures tightly. Meanwhile, Damian approached them.

“Father.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.” 

Though he was scraped and bruised from all the rolling around, there were no severe injuries.

“I don’t understand what’s happening.”

This wasn’t the northern border, nor the capital, yet here in the heart of the royal forest, three monsters had appeared.

“…But why are you here, Mother?”

“Well, I–” 

Daphne hesitated, her lips parting slightly.

“Your Excellency.”

“Nick?”

Nick appeared. At the sight of him, Daphne visibly flinched.

“It will take some time to prepare the mana stones. In the meantime, I’ve procured a potion to prevent the spread of miasma.”

Nick presented a crimson potion, one that Sergei had given him.

“No!” 

Daphne cried out instinctively.

“My brother and that man were working together! That potion is the very one that causes rampage!”

“Nick, is this true?” 

“It is not, Your Excellency,” Nick responded, waving his hands in denial. “How could I ever lie to you? Besides, wasn’t it the Madam who tried to poison the Princess?”

Daphne blinked, stunned. Me? Poison the Princess? She instinctively looked to Edmund. He showed no signs of surprise, as if he already knew.

[“Stay away from tomorrow’s hunting competition.”]

Had he warned her because he’d heard this?

Daphne’s faint hope dissolved as quickly as it had formed. If that were the case, Edmund wouldn’t have told her he planned to give all his prizes to Elizabeth.

“Madam, stop pretending. This poison was found in your belongings.”

“What? No… That’s not true, Edmund. I never–” 

Daphne stammered, looking at the vial Nick held, something she had never seen before. She was confused but knew she had to assert her innocence. She moved closer to Edmund, stepping away from Damian.

“I… I swear, it wasn’t me.”

Daphne reached out, her hand about to touch Edmund’s sleeve. But then, one of the robed figures Alec had restrained made a sudden move, and Nick uncorked the potion, splashing it onto Damian.

“Gah!”

Caught off guard, Damian couldn’t dodge in time and was drenched in the liquid.

“What… is this?” 

Damian murmured before stopping mid-sentence. His body began to heat up, and black haze started to rise from him. Damian’s head dropped, and his body went limp. Alec shivered as a familiar sensation washed over him.

“…Rampage?”

While Alec stood frozen, Edmund quickly regained his composure. But before he could act, Nick shoved Damian into the black forest. Behind them lay a cliff, with only a single narrow bridge.

“Damian!”

Edmund’s eyes widened as he watched Daphne leap past him to grab Damian, just as he was about to fall off the cliff. However, it was clear she couldn’t bear his weight for long.

As Daphne began to slip along with Damian, Edmund caught hold of her arm, throwing himself halfway over the cliff in a precarious attempt to hold them both.

“Ugh…”

Hearing Daphne’s faint groan, Edmund glanced at Damian. The black haze surrounding him seemed ready to engulf her at any moment. Damian looked at the crumbling cliffside rocks and understood: he had inherited the same aura.

But now, the immediate problem was Daphne, who was extremely vulnerable to the aura, holding on to him. The trembling in her arm was evident as she clung to Damian’s clothes.

Edmund grimaced, feeling searing pain in his right shoulder. Of all times, why now?

His shoulder had long ceased to function properly, the miasma having penetrated deep into his nerves. Even moving it slightly caused unbearable pain.

“Alec!” 

Edmund called out desperately, but Alec was fending off a group of assassins that had suddenly appeared.

“How long can you hold on?”

“N-not much longer,” Daphne admitted, her jaw trembling.

The black haze around Damian grew stronger, radiating heat. Daphne turned to look at Edmund and noticed the faintly glowing white mana stone precariously tucked into his tunic. It was divine energy.

Once it starts, the rampage doesn’t stop until death, Sergei’s words echoed in her mind. Daphne lowered her gaze to Damian, limp in her grip. The rain made her grip on Edmund’s hand weaker by the second.

Realizing this, Daphne looked up at Edmund.

“…Edmund.”

Edmund’s breathing was labored.

“The rain won’t stop.”

The gray clouds above showed no sign of clearing. Instead, the rain intensified.

“Let me go.”

“No.”

“Do you want all three of us to die?”

Edmund realized how close to the edge he was. Through the sound of the rain, Daphne faintly heard the clash of blades and surmised the situation.

At that moment, Edmund turned slightly, sensing the intent to kill behind him. He deflected the attack with the hilt of his sword.

Thud. Daphne slipped further down.

Tightening his grip, Edmund killed the assassin before him. But another followed immediately, attacking relentlessly. Edmund’s stamina drained rapidly. Before he could finish off the last of them, dozens more emerged. Daphne, sensing the danger, called out to him.

“Edmund.”

“…I can hear rushing water. The rain has been falling heavily, so there must be a river below.”

As she spoke, Daphne grabbed the mana stone in Edmund’s pocket. Just then, the assassins lunged at him all at once.

Daphne twisted her arm slightly in his grasp. The rain-soaked conditions made it easy for her to slip free of his hand. Their fingertips barely brushed as they parted. In that fleeting moment of contact, a spark seemed to pass between them.

“Stay alive. I will find you, no matter what.”

And with that, Daphne and Damian plummeted into the depths below.

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